


little corner of heaven

by yasi



Series: Ballum Week 2020 [1]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Character Study, M/M, ballum week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24613297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yasi/pseuds/yasi
Summary: written for ballum week 2020 day three: family.
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Series: Ballum Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021099
Comments: 10
Kudos: 50





	little corner of heaven

Callum is man enough to admit to himself that one of the reasons why he held on to the lie of being straight was that he wanted a family. A family he himself didn’t have but always longed for. A proper one, with two loving parents and children. He’d thought that only being with Whitney could give him that. Give him the opportunity of having children of his own.

He wanted to be a better father than his own dad. He wanted to be there for his children. Love them, cherish them. Give them everything he didn’t have. Support them no matter what. Watch them grow up to be great human beings.

He'd wanted it all. With Whitney. But he never thought of the consequences of upholding this lie. When he’d been in the army, it had been easy enough. Well, not easy but the army being what it is had kept him in check. But coming back to Walford permanently destroyed all his hopes.

Because despite how hard he tried and how much he loved Whitney, he wasn’t in love with her. He loved spending time with her and planning their future together. But something was always missing.

Until the day Ben Mitchell walked into the Vic and into his life. Phil Mitchell’s famous, good-for-nothing gay son, back home from his travels.

Callum had never let himself think about what his type is. But if pressed, he’d have always described someone like Chris, kind, caring, and loving. He never could have imagined that Ben Mitchell, a thug, and a criminal would be his type.

And yet here he is, in love with Ben Mitchell. Unable to put into words what being with Ben does to him. He's felt more like himself, more like who he was supposed to be in the short time he’s been together with Ben than most of his life. He’d never understood why he didn’t fit, why he felt so lost.

With Ben everything seems possible. Even that dream of having his own family. He knows it’s too early in their relationship but when he thinks about his future with Ben, he sees them together with Lexi and if Ben wanted to, with a little baby brother for her.

Seeing Ben with Lexi had been an eye-opener. He’d been so angry and frustrated with Ben, never wanting to see him again after his not-so-veiled threats of outing him. But then he’d seen Ben with Lexi at the park, how happy she’d looked to be with him, how loving Ben had been with her and he’d felt his heart thaw.

And every time after that, when Ben had been with Lexi, he’d shown a side of himself everybody else seemed to ignore. Someone who was loving to his daughter, who put her above anybody else, couldn’t be a bad person. So, he’d let himself look and inevitably, he’d fallen in love.

And with Ben came Lexi into his life. A clever little girl, a perfect combination of both her parents. Callum loves spending time with her, be it taking her to school, doing homework together or watching her for an evening because Lola and Jay are having a date night.

With her Callum doesn’t have to imagine what it would be like to be a father. Callum knows she’s not his but when they’re all together, like now, having a night in, eating pizza, and watching a movie, it feels like his little corner of heaven. This family he’s found for himself. 


End file.
